The Color of Snow
by Master Jesse
Summary: .:Complete:. Across a field of snow a temple that might hold one of Sakura's feathers rests untouched for centuries. But Kurogane and Fai find that it may not actually be empty.
1. Chapter 1

Don't Own... Wish I did cause i'd stop it to finish Legal drug!

Color of Snow

Part 1

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Long fingers adjusted the heavy fabric of the winter hat protecting a dark head of hair from the harsh wind that blew the snow in an almost horizontal line. The hat kept moving on Kurogane's head. He didn't see why he had to wear the hat, or the jacket with so much padding he couldn't move his arms without an effort. He looked over to his lighter haired companion and a growl bubbled up in his throat. It was all Fai's fault that his fingers were freezing as he messed with the hat he had forced onto his head. He gave up on keeping the hat on his head and stuck his hands in his pockets.

The snow continued to fall and the wind continued to blow. The tall man was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get to the temple the townspeople said held a magical power. Sayoran automatically thought it was one of Sakura's feathers. The only reason he wasn't with them was due to Sakura's collapsing moments before they departed. The concern on his face had left an impression on Kurogane. He didn't know if he had ever felt that strongly for anyone. He'd felt for the princess, but it was as if it was his duty to feel for her, he wasn't sure if it he did anymore.

"Are we there yet?" Fai's voice shocked him out of his thoughts and he searched the snow covered field. It was white for what seemed like miles, but hopefully it was that far, they had been walking for hours and even if their pace was slow they should almost be there.

Kurogane shrugged, but it was doubtful Fai saw it, between the snow and the pure bulk of his jacket.

"Do you see that?" The blond's long arm was pointed in front of them. A dark blur was barely visible, but it was there. They quickened their pace. The blur slowly started to change into the temple they were after.

They stepped onto a bridge, frozen over from the cold. During warmer weather the bridge was an entrance that arched over a peaceful stream. The wind quickened as they neared the door. Kurogane pushed on the large door and it opened enough for them to slip in before slamming shut. They leaned against the door gasping for breath.

"What do we do now?"

"Find the feather and go." Kurogane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The wind should calm down by then."

Fai pulled off his outer jacket and set if on the floor near the door. The clean white of the fabric looked angelic against the dirty decaying brown of the floor. Kurogane's eyes fell on Fai, they slid along the lean length of his back. When Fai turned he looked to the ground and shrugged his jacket off. It fell down on top of his companion's, covering its pure white with a black that seemed to draw in the light.

The temple was a long building its hallways seemed to stretch on forever. The dark corridors were empty of any life whatsoever. As Fai walked down the hall, he trailed a gloved finger along the dust covered walls. He didn't know what they were looking for, the people of the town had only said the temple held a magical power. They never said anything about a feather.

A thump and an eerie sound swept behind Fai. He turned quickly, his breath caught and his heartbeat quickened. There was nothing. The hall was still empty. He let out his breath and turned back.

He bumped into something and fell to the ground, shutting his eyes tight in the process. He opened them and found himself looking up at an angry Kurogane. Then again he always looked angry so you could never really tell.

"Something wrong?" The dark haired man asked as he offered a hand to the one on the floor.

Fai looked back as he rose, but there was still nothing. "No, Kuro-pii." He looked around them, the temple appeared to have been abandoned years ago, and the rooms were all empty.

"There isn't anything here," Kurogane said, irritation plain in his voice.

"Let's go back then."

The taller man shrugged and started walking back to the door. He struggled with his jacket and pulled open the door as Fai was working on his. The wind howled and pushed hard enough on the door that Kurogane was pushed back. He groaned and pushed on the door, just trying to get it shut. The door slowly started to shut. A gust of wind blew and only with Fai's sudden help did the door keep from being blown open.

Laughing, Fai leaned against the door as it shut. He shrugged off the one sleeve he had gotten on and turned to Kurogane, who was staring off down the hallway.

"Do you need help with that?"

He took the bulk jacket material in his hands and moved to take it off, but Kurogane started running down the hallway.

"Stay!" He ordered as he rounded one of the few corners in the temple. Fai let his hands fall as he stared after him in disbelief.

A few hours later Fai was still near the door. He paced back and forth. The eerie sound from before whispered along the walls again and he turned to the corner where Kurogane had gone. He set off, and when he turned the corner he heard a yell. He turned but the hall was bare, and he couldn't tell if it was truly a yell, or the wind playing a trick on him.

"You seem jumpy." Kurogane's voice was barely a whisper and was brought so close to Fai's ear that he gasped. "It seems that we aren't alone here. We should find someplace to... until the storm lets up." The wind howled loudly covering Kurogane's words.

Fai nodded and went back to the door. He picked up his jacket and continued down the hall. He'd seen a room earlier that had a window and decided that would be the best place. He opened a door, and waved Kurogane in.

The room was one of the monk's bedrooms. Everything in it was covered in layers upon layers of dust, confirming how long it had been since anyone had been there. "Who else is here?" Fai asked as he walked to the window. Kurogane locked the door and turned to the room with a wicked smile. He advanced on Fai who was staring mesmerized at the endless white.

"Such a pretty color," Kurogane said as his hand slid around Fai's chin. He tried to turn, but the fingers, that were so soft on his skin, held him with an iron grip. His head was turned and light kisses on his neck sent shivers down his spine. Fai leaned back resigning himself to the other's advances.

A growl echoed out of Kurogane's neck. That one sound froze Fai in his spot. His heart beat quickened and he tried to pull away. He got away, but was spun back to face the serious expression of his companion. He looked up his light eyes filled with an apprehensive fear.

He could have moved back to avoid Kurogane, but he didn't. Instead he leaned up to meet his lips. The touch was soft, but only for a moment. As if an uncontrollable hunger filled him, the dark haired man tightened his grip on the smaller's arms. His lips pushed harder, a mouth crushing kiss. Fai pulled back enough to gasp in air, and in that moment he was pushed onto the bed.

A suffocating cloud of dust rose up and Fai coughed each cough only filling his lungs with more of the dust. Finally it settled and he could breathe again. He took a breath in and with that breath Kurogane was on him, pulling at clothes and covering him in kisses. There was aggression in those light touches, aggression that he didn't want. He tried pushing him off, but he was too strong.

"Kurogane!" Fai yelled, trying to break his friend from the spell he appeared to be under.

The door suddenly burst open and a dark blur flew at Kurogane.

"Get off him you lecherous old monk!"

Fai blinked as he saw two Kurogane's standing before him. One had a face of bruises and was holding his ribs as he breathed heavily, while the other stood rigid before him glaring. The glaring one roared and moved forward. Fai could have sworn he saw Kurogane flinch, but the movement was gone as the other disappeared.

"You finally got my name right." The remaining, and true Kurogane turned and with a smile collapsed to the ground.

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A/N: So. I redid some of this... its mostly the same, just fixed a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't Own.

Color of Snow

Part 2

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Fai stared at the collapsed figure on the ground and couldn't believe what he had just seen. Shockingly, the fact that there had been two Kurogane's was not what had him puzzled, or what had caused his heart to beat erratically. The smile. That perfect smile that had graced his partner's face before he fell. He couldn't believe that he had seen that, at all. He rolled the darker haired man over and checked the cut above his eye that left a wash of crimson down his face. His fingers lingered on the bruise already beginning to form on one of his cheeks.

"What happened to you?" he whispered as he looked toward the door. It hung on its last hinge, and even that was barely so. There was no way that the door would stay there long, plus, if those people, or things, whatever they were could do that to Kurogane, no door was going to keep them out. A shudder from beside him caused Fai to jump. He looked down at the seemingly sleeping form and wondered what was going on in that head of his.

He pulled Kurogane up and started to walk out of the room. He moved down the hall slowly to another room. The extra weight made him slow, but he pushed the door open and went in. He set the unconscious warrior in a corner and shut the door. He moved the bed against the door and hoped that it would keep them out. He sat next to Kurogane and went on thinking.

A gasp preceded Kurogane suddenly sitting up. He reacted quickly enough that Fai froze in shock. Dull but brightening eyes turned to him and a familiar scowl returned to his face. "Are you ok?" Fai's voice was quiet, quieter than it needed to be even if they were hiding. A nod. Kurogane wiped at the dried blood on his face. It came off, but not completely. "What happened?" Fai coughed. He avoided the dark eyes that were staring at him. "It left and you passed out?"

Kurogane shook his head and grabbed Fai's arm. "What did it do to you?" Fai's voice was caught in his throat. His heart beat was quickening without explanation. "Nothing. You stopped him." All of this was so confusing and he felt like he was losing himself. "Are you sure?" The darker haired man frowned and let go of Fai's arm. "Yea," he said softly. Kurogane stood and started pacing. "The snow hasn't stopped yet, because we really need to get out of here." Fai shrugged. It had still been howling when he'd left the room with the window, but now he couldn't hear anything, and there was no window. "I'm going to go check." He went to move the bed, but Fai got to it first. "You can't go out there. What if they are waiting?" "Then I'll fight them." Kurogane's reply would have calmed Fai normally, but seeing him bruised and broken had shattered all of Fai's belief that he was undefeated and would stay that way.

The bed slid away from the door and Kurogane opened the door. There was nothing there and he stepped out. He looked around and saw the door and walked toward it. Fai followed him closely. His hands hovered near Kurogane's back. He heard the slithering sound from the hallway before and latched onto the taller's shirt. He was getting scared. The building's aura, which had been like any other abandoned building was now terrifying. "Kuro!" He shouted as something wrapped around his leg. It appeared that Kurogane was having his own trouble because he was trying to pull a pair of hands off his shoulder. Fai's grip slipped and he was being pulled down the hall, his footing slipped and he fell to the floor with a thud. He tried to keep by being pulled by grabbing the floor, but his hands found no holding. He scratched desperately at the floor, until his hands were grabbed. At first he thought it was another of the things, but he was being pulled back. He looked up and saw Kurogane pulling on him. He gripped as tightly as he could and tried kicking at the hands around his leg. They had stopped moving, but he was still being pulled. He had a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and he was wrapped around Kurogane's neck. The hands were losing. He caught one of the fingers with his foot and the grip loosened enough that one pull and he was free.

"Screw this," Kurogane shouted and ran toward the main door. Fai was still hanging on him, afraid to touch the ground. The heavy doors opened slowly. They slipped out and continued to run. They pushed on through the whipping snow. They didn't stop running until they couldn't see the temple any longer. Fai looked back, the snow had stopped and now all they could see was the white blanket it had left. Kurogane hadn't stopped. He was still trudging through the thick layer of snow. Fai walked quickly to keep up. They made it back to town faster than it had taken to get to the temple, mostly because they were trying as hard as they could to get away from that cursed place.

Fai knocked on Sayoran's door when they got back to the inn. He opened the door and smiled brightly. "Was it a feather?" Fai shook his head slowly, and the boy frowned. They had no leads as to where the feather was. He smiled faintly and turned back. "I'll talk to you in the morning." Fai heard Sakura's voice as the door shut. The blond walked down the hall and entered his and Kurogane's room. It was already occupied by a sleeping lump in one of the beds. Fai sat on the bed and stared into space. He couldn't stop worrying. He knew that it wasn't the end of it all. Something would happen.

The sun filled the room and Fai opened his eyes. He rubbed his leg and looked around the room. The other bed was empty. The sound of water was heard from the attached bathroom and Fai laid back down. The water stopped and silence screamed at Fai. His mind, no longer distracted, went back to the temple. "Turn the water back on!" Fai yelled. Kurogane opened the door and glowered at the blond. "What are you yelling about?" Fai didn't respond. He was too busy looking at the blackened bruises covering the bare chest peeking out the door. He shook his head to get the thoughts away and Kurogane shut the door.

Fai disappeared. He wandered down to the kitchen and listened to the cooks as they worked. A few minutes later and Sakura sat down next to him. She was humming a song. Her light voice calmed down the thoughts that had been raging through him and he relaxed the grip he'd had on the counter. "Good morning," she said as she finished the song. He nodded his response and pushed on his chair. "I'm going to go on a walk. Can you tell the other's for me?" When she replied with a yes he left.

There was still snow on the ground, although it was scattered around in patches. Most of the dirt had turned to a muddy mess. He stepped carefully. His white jacket and pants threatened to get dirty and never be clean again. He ended up on a bridge. He leaned against the railing and looked at the river that used to flow quickly, but now only moved slush and frozen blocks of ice. He scratched at his leg and watched a fish as it struggled in the water. The poor thing shouldn't be in the water. The wind suddenly blew and he was falling. The railing was slick and he had nothing to grip. A hand gripped his wrist and he was pulled back over. "What the hell are you doing?" Fai grumbled in response and stomped off the bridge. He could've sworn he had been pushed, the wind had pushed him hard enough that he felt like a pair of hands had shoved him. He heard the patter of feet following him and didn't turn. He knew Kurogane was following him.

A few blocks later and they were back at the inn. Fai waved curtly as their companions that were sitting in the lobby talking. Sayoran's smile wilted at the edges, but Sakura said something and it returned. The door was just about to slam, but it was stopped and put in place quietly. "What's your problem?" Fai huffed and flopped onto the bed. He shut his eyes and Kurogane out. "Answer me." His voice was barely audible, but was still a harsh order.

A gesture provoked Kurogane and he was leaning over the blond. Fai glared up at the eyes that burned with fury, the darker haired man growled harshly. The growl reminded Fai of the imposter and he froze. The recognition must have showed on his face because he was suddenly alone in the room. He breathed slowly and stared at the door that swung back and forth. He walked to the door and shut it slowly. A dark figure was sitting in a ball halfway down the hallway. He was tempted to go out, but his leg started itching, and he shut the door as quietly as he could. The sun was starting to set, he decided he would go to bed early tonight. He showered before climbing into his bed and burying himself deeper into the covers.

Halfway through the night he heard a yawn. He opened one eye a crack and once he saw the familiar dark shape climbing into his bed he closed his eyes and let sleep over take him.

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A/N: Redid... a bit. Chapter 3 is coming next! Le GASP! After YEARS there is more. (Might not be very good though. :( Sorry)


	3. Chapter 3

Don't Own

Color of Snow

Part 2

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Fai was shocked awake. His hands reached out, clawing at anything he could reach and his eyes flew open in fright. A few seconds passed and his grip on the comforter, that gave him no comfort, lessened and he began to take in the room. It was empty. It was exactly as it had been when he had gone to sleep. But something had woken him. A nightmare? He took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. The nightmare wasn't a familiar one. He pushed back the covers and just sat on the bed trying to shake the strange feeling creeping up his spine.

As he dressed the tightening in his chest increased and he found himself jumping at every little thing. A loose piece of string tickled the back of his arm and he screamed. When he noticed the familiar sensation of the string he laughed to himself and picked it off. The damage was done though. He heard the knock at the door and jumped. The dark hair and eyes that he saw through the peep hole did not give any comfort, if anything he was suddenly even more scared. He didn't know why. There had been nothing to scare him this much. What surprised him and confused him even more was the fact that Kurogane had knocked. This was his room too. Why was he knocking? He opened the door slowly. The larger man just looked at him. The scrutinizing gaze was too much and Fai took a step back. The movement brought his attention to the throbbing pain running up and down his leg. Kurogane shut the door and even that small noise made him jump.

"What's wrong?" The question was simple, and could easily be answered with a lie, but the blond wizard found his mouth dry and unable to form the words of his lie. He just shrugged. He took another step back and it was the wrong thing to do. The searing pain raced along his leg and up into his chest. He grasped at his heart and cried out. He could hear gasping and after opening eyes that he hadn't realized he had closed, he learned that it was not Kurogane gasping as he had first though for some absurd reason, but himself. His lungs couldn't find enough air, enough clean air. The pain subsided and he could breath again. He could still feel the pain in his leg. He sat down and pulled frantically at his pant leg. Black marks wrapped around his leg. The darker haired man must have seen something that Fai couldn't. His eyes narrowed and he placed a hand over the marks. All of the marks corresponded with each of his fingers. He remembered the creature pulling at them both and frowned. He looked up at Fai who was still as stone. He lifted his hand off of the ruined pale skin and a gasp was torn from Fai's throat. "Don't touch me," Fai rasped as he moved away, one of his hands out as if to ward off a blow. He ended up against the bed and his eyes closed. He jumped as the door was slammed. He opened his eyes a crack and saw that the room was suddenly empty. He knew Kurogane well enough that he could guess what the foolish man was going to do. His leg throbbed at the thought of Kurogane, but Fai ignored it. He climbed to his feet and ran out to the only place the dark man would go.

- - - -

Kurogane pushed the doors to the temple open and looked around. He cautiously took a step in and as his hands left the door they shut with a loud clunk. He pulled on the door and knew he was locked in. As he turned he heard a slithering sound. He turned quickly to where the sound had come from, but the hallway was as empty as it had been before. He turned back and he was looking at himself. He blinked and so did the other him. He took a step back and felt something pressing against his back. He turned and Fai's hand was on his back. He moved away from both of them and they smiled turning to face him.

"What's wrong, Kuro-pii?" The voice was the same as Fai's, but the mocking that normally went along with the nickname was gone, replaced by a hatred Kurogane could almost taste as it was spat at him. He shook his head and mumbled something. Suddenly he threw himself at the imposter Fai, but before he reached him, he was taken to the ground by the mirror of himself. "What's wrong? Don't you like me anymore?" The pain on Fai's face, even if it wasn't really Fai, sent the fighter reeling. His heart throbbed and he pushed against the strong hands holding him down. "You shouldn't be so mean." His own voice admonished. He struggled, but it was useless, he wasn't doing any good.

Fai climbed through an open window. He had tried the main door, but it had been locked. The pain in his leg was even worse closer to the temple, but he had to find Kurogane. He didn't know why exactly, just that he couldn't leave him alone. He recognized the room immediately. The door still hung on its hinges, and he laughed quietly to himself. Of course it was, there wasn't anyone to fix it. As he crept to the hallway he heard voices, familiar voices. He laughed. He blinked and realized that it wasn't him that was laughing, even if it was his voice, and his laugh. "You could make this easier for both of you." He still couldn't get over how he sounded. Something drew his eyes to Kurogane, the real one, his eyes widened when he saw that he was looking back at him. He looked away and when his eyes returned Kurogane's eyes were back on his double. Fai reacted before his mind could tell him no. He ran at the imposters. He kicked the Kurogane double in the head before diving onto himself. He punched himself continuously and the imposter stopped moving, it chilled him to watch himself lay utterly still. He couldn't even see the rising and falling that signaled breathing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. He turned and his fist was stopped. "It's ok." Fai blinked and looked up at Kurogane. He must have shown some of his disbelief because the dark haired man laughed and pulled him up. "It's me." The laughter wasn't convincing, because Kurogane never laughed, but the all too careful way that he was touching him made it clear that it was him. "Kurogane!" Fai gasped and threw his arms around the shocked fighter. He suddenly felt weak and his legs gave out, if he hadn't been holding so tightly onto Kurogane he would have fallen to the ground. He sighed and rested against the warmth of his companion. "I probably should have worn a jacket." "Stupid," Kurogane grumbled as he lifted the smaller man easily into his arms. The cold finally reaching Fai was not all that caused his weakness though. As they turned the imposters were gone. There was only a pile of dust left in each of their places. A necklace was glimmering lightly under one of the piles. "Let's get out of here." An unsettling feeling was chilling the already frozen Fai.

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A/N: So. This was chapter 3. Review if you liked it. If not then I should probably not put up chapter 4 and just drop this for good. Lemme know!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do Not Own

Color of Snow

Part 4

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"You shouldn't have come after me." Kurogane said for the last time he told himself. "If I hadn't you would still be," a sneeze interrupted Fai momentarily. "Still be with those horrible things." This argument kept repeating every time Fai complained about being stuck in bed. Thinking that it was his fault Kurogane hadn't left the smaller man's bed side, except once to fetch a doctor. The doctor said it was a simple cold, and he would get better in a few days. That was almost two weeks ago.

Fai was miserable. He complained nonstop. At first he had been silent, the guilt of holding back their retrieval of the feathers filling him, but once Sakura had started twittering around him, bringing up food and making sure he was comfortable he had started complaining. Only to Kurogane though. The other's were never victims of the wizard's whines. A fit of coughing broke the silence that kept growing between them every day. They hadn't talked much before, but now they didn't talk at all unless they were arguing.

"You could die." Kurogane said softly. He worried about that. Every night he barely got sleep due to the worry that he would wake and Fai would no longer be breathing, or he would be gone. The dreams haunted him even when he was awake lately. Fai looked at him with a slight confusion. "I won't die. The doctor said it was just a cold, and its just a cold. People don't die from colds." There was no agreement at all in the larger man, if anything he doubted the blonde's words now more than ever. "The doctor also said you would get better, you've been getting worse everyday."

There was something in his voice that stopped Fai from responding. Fai rolled over and looked at his companion. "Nothing like a little cold can kill me. I'll be fine." He kept his voice soft and tried to reassure the man with a smile. Dark eyes only narrowed in response. "You are so frustrating." The grumble was unexpected and Fai only looked on in confusion. "Admit it, you aren't healthy, you're getting sicker every day and if you died..." He paused and his voice dropped to below a whisper. "I don't know what I'd do." I chilled hand rested on his. Kurogane looked up and that was all he could do. Fai's other hand brought his face down and their lips met. Kurogane's hand hovered over the other's pale neck, a little nip and his self control broke. A noise arose in his throat and he deepened the kiss until they couldn't breath.

They pulled back for air and Fai coughed. He shook over and over as the coughs racked his small frame. Kurogane stood. He cursed himself and stalked out the door. He couldn't believe what he had just done. As the door shut with a loud bang Fai felt utterly alone. He pulled the comforter up closer around his neck, but it brought him nothing, not even warmth.

Kurogane barely opened the door and stepped into the room. The light from the hallway was quickly closed off as he entered. He moved strenuously slow toward his bed. If Fai was asleep he didn't want to wake him. Neither of them had gotten any sleep the past few days. "You look like an idiot." The harsh words sounded like nothing he'd ever heard from the smaller man. "Big puppy, have you put yourself in the dog house?" Again not something Fai would say. Kurogane looked to the bed and stepped back when he realized that Fai was standing not two inches from him. "Scare you?" Everything suddenly went black.

A scream caught in his throat as he sat up. The covers pooled in his lap and he blinked quickly, trying to take in everything. The dream, for it couldn't have been anything else, terrified him. He looked over to Fai who was staring at him, slightly scared, but not as pale as he had been the past week. "You ok?" the blond asked. Kurogane nodded and groaned. He rotated his head trying to stretch out the muscles of his neck. "I must have slept wrong." He rasped as he swung his legs to the floor. Fai mirrored him and smiled. "Yeah, I slept perfectly last night." There was something in his voice that hinted to other things, but the nightmare had drained him of his energy and he didn't follow it. A clamor came from the hallway and the door opened. "He found the feather!" Sayoran shouted holding the rice ball in the air. The pair stood and started to the door. Fai danced along the ground, while Kurogane stretched. He didn't notice the new glint in his partners eyes. "You're mine now," Fai whispered as he shut the door and followed after the others. "Did you say something?" A mischievous smile crossed Fai's face but he didn't say anything more.

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A/N: I've decided to push through and finish this. I've got most of the last chapter finished. YAY! I just got to figure out an awesome ending... hopefully I can. Forgive me though since I've been writing this for three years...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own

Color of Snow

Part 5

The FINAL Chapter

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The group walked through the puddles of melting snow. Kurogane lagged behind. His head and neck throbbed with each step. He wished that he could have stayed in the room, but Fai had insisted they all went. That it would be safer for all of them if he went. Honestly he didn't know if that was true with him being in the state he was in. He knew that his reactions wouldn't be as good as they normally were. His thoughts started to drift to the night before and his headache throbbed harder.

'Kuro-pii.' The dark-haired man paused at the nickname. He glared at the blond man and the smile on his companion's face faded into a devilish smirk. That look. Kurogane had seen it before. He moved forward when the blond slipped is arms over the young pair's shoulders. There was nothing he could do now, but he knew that he had to do something. The children would not be able to fight off that presence; he had barely been able to, and even the normally resilient wizard obviously hadn't been able to fight it.

He followed behind focused on the taller of the three. There had to be some way that he could stop him. As his brain raced through the possibilities he circled one thing. A smile crossed his previously serious face and he knew what to do. He waited for the group to turn a corner ahead of him and ran across the street. He had to end this. He didn't know what it was that had escaped the temple, but he knew that somewhere inside that temple was the way to end all of this trouble. In a room he now knew.

The snow around the temple had completely melted. The grass was starting to grow back quickly. He stared at the patches as he passed. There was something going on here. He started into a run when he saw the stream gently bubbling underneath the tiny bridge. He was halfway across the bridge when something caught his eye. Below the water was ivory white objects moving lightly. He saw a face looking back at him and his feet pulled him into movement again. Whatever it was had killed several people. He pulled on the door and a wail of wind escaped. He remembered it all now.

He ran down the hallway he had come across when searching for the presence he had felt the first time. He stopped in front of the giant door at the end of the hallway. His hands trembled in memory of that room. He couldn't believe he had forgotten something so important. He pushed the door open, it was heavy and barely opened enough for him to slip through. Another wail of wind streaked through the open doorway and he quickly shut the door behind him. His eyes searched the room, taking in the piles of bones that were spread throughout. He didn't know how no one had found this room. It must have taken centuries to capture all these people and have no one notice so many had gone missing.

He looked around the room. It no longer held the stifling presence he had felt before. The worst of it must now be housed in the blond man escorting the children around. He wondered if he had made the right choice in leaving them alone, but he knew that he had to destroy the source.

He walked toward the center of the room and heard a muffled groan. His eyes alit on the source of the noise. Blond hair and pale skin glittered in the sun light. He rushed to his companion's side and pulled him up. He saw the black hand print on his leg and knew he was in pain. 'Fai,' he whispered to the whimpering man. 'Kuro.' Blue eyes met his and he wanted to wipe the tears filling them away. 'Its ok.' He held the trembling figure to him and looked around. There had to be something. A tiny figurine was sitting in the corner of the room. Half hidden behind a tiny pile of what looked like fingers. He slipped his arms under the other's legs and lifted him up. A shout of disagreement echoed through the room, but he ignored it and slipped around piles to the figurine. He looked at it and could feel part of the horrible presence inside of it. He pushed the bones aside and could finally see the entire figurine. It didn't look like anything he had seen before.

'NO!' A booming voice echoed in the room. He turned and saw the blond's doppleganger standing in the open doorway. He was glaring at the pair. Fai huddled closer. The dark haired man smirked and took a step back. As he lifted his foot he moved it over the figurine and put all of his weight on it. The figure crumbled and the pile started shrinking into piles of dust. He closed his eyes as a wind picked up and lifted all the dust into the sky. He heard a wail and knew that the embodiment of that figure was being pulled along with it.

'The children.' Fai whispered and Kurogane let his feet slide to the ground. 'Let's go.' He took the smaller's hand and pulled him through the now lively hallways. As they neared town a group of people had gathered. The two didn't know what to expect. Cheers of joy erupted as they neared. They walked through the crowd and received thanks and pats on the back. They hadn't realized how much they had been troubled. The life had come back to their town.

At the back of the group stood the two children. Sayoran looked confused as he held an overly excited girl's hand. She jumped up and down as Fai and Kurogane neared. 'You saved them all!' The pair noticed a few eyes on their hands and the taller quickly let go. Best not to have to explain that. Slowly the town made their way away from the group toward their returned temple.

A few hours later the children had settled down into their room. They had the feather, but were waiting on Fai to heal. He hadn't been able to stand on his own for very long. The wizard sat on his bed and watched Kurogane as he shuffled around the room gathering odds and ends spread out through the room, returning it to how it had been before they had taken it over. He opened the main door and Fai opened his mouth. 'I know. I'm not going anywhere.' He called down the hall to one of the housekeepers. After a brief conversation the girl departed and Kurogane shut the door. 'Are you going to tell me what happened?' The dark haired man say on the bed across from Fai. The black eyes met blue briefly. 'I can't remember.' He paused. 'I know that you left and something changed. The next thing I knew I was in the temple. In that room. I couldn't move. My leg felt like it was being eaten from the inside out.' He looked up at the ceiling. 'It only stopped when I thought of…' He paused and his eyes flicked down to the man across from him. 'I was so worried that he was going to get you… I remember that was all he wanted. I could sense it. His desire.'

'Do you know when all this happened?' Kurogane's thoughts were on the night before, had the blond initiated their kiss, or was it that thing. 'Sometime after you left.' There was a tiny blush on the man's pale cheeks, and Kurogane smiled. He could barely contain the joy at being able to mess with his companion. Revenge. 'Was it his desire you felt? Or yours?' He smirked as the pale skin deepened dramatically. Their eyes met and the dark haired man broke into laughter.

* * *

A/N: I decided to end it this way because I couldn't remember what I had originally planned for the ending, and this was quick and sweet. Sorry if its not what you wanted but at least you don't have to wait for a story that might not have ever ended. This ends and happily. Yay.


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